In 2018, from May 26 to June 1, I will take part in a cycling challenge around Rwanda in aid of Burundi, one of the world's poorest nations recovering from years of civil war and genocide.
The ride covers a total of 770km with some 14500 metres of climbing. Rwanda is called the Land of a Thousand Hills with good reason. The ride is organized by GLO, a remarkable charity pioneering the transformation of Burundi.
Burundi is still in crisis and I am seeking your support to raise funds for
GLO. Every day they work selflessly to promote peace, advance education, and enable social enterprise through community outreach initiatives.
Any donation, no matter how small, makes a huge difference - really, it does - so please consider giving something.
We will be raising money for three key programs:
1. Burundi Bio-Agricultural Communities
2. Gitega International Academy
3. New Generation
Burundi Bio-Agricultural Communities (BBAC) imports pregnant
high-yield cross-bred Friesian cows from Tanzania. The major benefit of the imported cows is that they produce around 10 times as much as Burundian cows. BBAC encourage communities to keep them in one area to minimise damage to neighbours’ crops and, at the same time, avoiding the need for children to tend them. This methodology has radically transformed 400 families' lives and has helped kick-start the local economy. The children who had previously been looking after Burundian cows can now go to school financed by the milk sales.
Gitega International Academy is the first English-speaking boarding school in the country. It is raising the next generation of shapers and shakers for Burundi. Many of the country's leaders attend and they receive an education emphasising leadership skills, moral character, and personal integrity; see www.gitegainternationalacademy.org for more information.
New Generation is a street kids project. NGB runs a Road to School
program helping street children catch up on the years of schooling many have missed.
For more information on these three programs, see the cycling page on my website.
If we raise sufficient funds for the projects mentioned above,
any remaining money will go to GLO’s other projects in the country.
Your donations are solely for the work of Great Lakes Outreach
and will go directly to the charity. I will cover all my costs: registration
fee, accommodation, food, and all other expenses. Once you donate, Just Giving will send your money directly to the charity.
Just Giving applies a 5% administration fee which I think is reasonable but if for any reason you are not comfortable with that, contact me and I will be more than happy to pay that 5% myself.
Your donations will be a huge motivation to get me through the many hours of training needed to complete this ride but, much more importantly, they will make a massive difference to the people of Burundi. So, thank you and I won’t let you down!
For information on GLO, click here
Thanks to Michel Bézy, Carnegie Mellon University Africa, for permission to use his photograph of the girl from Rwanda below.
